Damphousse

Hoya ProND line. Buy from Greg here at his eBay store. He's selling genuine Hoya ND filters at a great discount. The ND32 will cut 5 stops.
http://stores.ebay.com/photo4b-eu

By now you might be wondering which to pull the trigger on - the RX10 II or RX100 IV?
The good news is I have now finally got round to finishing my review of the RX10 II and have also bought the RX100 IV to compare it with...
Read the full article

Owning an F3 and BMPCC (the big and mini combo of high performance 1080 cameras) is going  a long way towards reducing the crippling GAS I suffer from!
Had a rather weird day today (DoP was no show!!!), but I was shooting with the PMW-F3 and damn I was really liking the look of some of those shots!
 
But even so... I still get tempted badly due to my case of GAS :-/ Purchased a Panasonic G6 a few days ago. And got very very tempted today to get a Sony RX100 mk1....  (US$260 is hard to resist!).

Received my color checker a while go, but just got a chance to audition it. and well, I wish I'd sprung for one of these sooner. Now I get the skintones I prefer from the GH4's Natural profile and can quickly balance the image before grading it. I'm thinking I should just permanently mount the color chart to the slate during production.
Here's a sample. Uncorrected frame followed by the instantly balanced version using the color checker grid. I did no other adjustments.
GH4, SLR Magic 25mm @T/2.8, Kowa Bell & Howell, Rectilux 3FF-W, Hoya ProND 4.
ISO 200, Natural, Contrat 0, Sharpness -5, NR -5, Saturation -2, Tint 0.

 

I'd recommend the Sony PMW-F3 for sure (I have one myself! And I'm using Nikon lenses with it).
They're an insanely good deal. Can easily pick one up for roughly two grand ish each on eBay or elsewhere. I even saw one go for a grand and a half earlier this week on eBay (I paid even less for mine!).
 
Only significant drawbacks about this AWESOME camera: weight, max 60fps, and only MF (except for rare FZ exceptions).

I've been keeping an eye out for a deal on one of these. Don't know how long it will last but the coupon code PSWBH15 will take $40 off the $99 price tag at B&H Photo. Davinci Resolve users will find it particularly useful. I'm hoping with enough testing and tweaking, I can come up with a custom LUT that will neutralize the GH4's unique color issues.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/651253-REG/X_Rite_MSCCPP_ColorChecker_Passport.html

How to use it in Davinci Resolve to balance colors. This gives a general idea despite the fact that the guy in the video screws things up a bit (like setting his ProRes footage to sRGB instead of Rec 709). And I think he's comparing an unbalanced tungsten shot to a balanced fluorescent shot. I think if he'd balance both, they'd be close in the end?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onom8tpiof8 
 

If the mainboard and main CPU backs straight onto the rear (likely) then it is indeed the heatsink being covered by the LCD.
Also I notice when 4K is enabled, you can't enable Sunny Weather mode which makes the LCD backlight go crazy bright, thus generating more heat. It gets greyed out in the menus.
Worth testing this I reckon...
----
How often do you record continuous takes one after the other of 30 min+
Live events and interviews... that is about it.
For everything else including the long hikes in the sun, you should be less worried than you guys seem...

The EF-PL Mount for the C300ii might be included in the,
"Canon Service will put whatever mount on it you want".
https://youtu.be/-Oe2sZMWbvg?t=8m25s

I've bought a camera from them in the past, and on occasion the price will drop even further, but then go up an hour or two later. Either way, I would expect it to hover around that price for a little while, at least. 
Oh lenses, that is the issue with this camera. I didn't buy it to shoot 1080p, so before I even considered it, I took a look at my collection. Luckily I have a 17mm FD lens, which will give me about 45mm in Cinema 4K. I also have the FD 28mm f/2, 35-70mm f/4, and the 50mm f/1.4. 
I'm a vintage lens guy, so I like to have more than one option, so I also have a Tokina RMC 17mm, and the RMC 25-50mm. 
None of my lenses will afford me proper wide angle, so I guess I will have to settle on stepping back a little bit... Or a lot. 
Eventually, I may look into one of the Rokinon cinema lenses... Maybe a 12mm. I think they make an 8mm fisheye as well, or one of the Tokina wide angle zooms. 

As some may know, I ordered the NX500 two days ago from the eBay seller that has the body only priced at $344. I have been itching to shoot 4K for awhile now, and at this price, I had to go into debt, and get one. Of course, now I have to sell off some lenses to pay for it.
Anyway, I received the camera yesterday, which is pretty fast, even if the seller is in the same state as me.
Yesterday afternoon, I only had time to open the box, and inspect the camera. Everything looked good, and new. The camera has a nice, balanced feel to it, and doesn't feel cheap... But most importantly... It just looks cool.
The first "problem" I've encountered is that Samsung went the cheap route and didn't include an external battery charger... So if I decide to keep the camera, I'll have to order one, and a couple extra batteries... Good news is the batteries, and charger are cheap.
So, I plugged the camera in to charge, and turned her on. Since it was a body only sale, and I don't have any NX lenses, I was only able to check out the menu, and set some preferences, until my adapters arrive... Hopefully by tomorrow. 
The menu is simple to navigate, and organized well. The first thing I checked is the firmware, and as I assumed, it is 1.0. From what I have read, it is a cinch to update the firmware through the camera's wifi. Once the battery is charged, I will giver her an update. 
I really like how they employed the FN button for on the fly changes. It's much better than some systems where you have to go deep into the bowels of the menu to make basic changes. 
From the FN button you can also set up, and customize your picture profiles, and they give you a lot of options for the customization... More so than the Sony or Canon cameras I have had in the past.
Along with normal preset profiles like standard, and vivid, etc... you also have a few custom profiles, where you can adjust the RGB, sharpness, saturation, contrast, and hue. Without the ability to see the image, I dropped everything down to -10, except saturation.
I'm sure once I get a lens on her, I will tweak them a little more to get the flattest image. But with so many customizable options, it seems like you could do a dirty and sloppy in camera "grade" for videos where you may need a quick delivery. 
Anyway, that's about all for now. I'll add to the post as I progress. 
To Be Continued

The camera market is getting smaller. This in part due to cell ptones and also because of people that are happy with their cameras from 3-5 years ago and don't see the point of getting a new one (i know many of these).
I think that's the logic behind Sony's strategy of putting a lot of new features in order to allure people that don't see the point of getting the 7d II instead of the 7d.
That's also why all of the manufacturers , not only canon, are thinking about diversifying. People wont change the camera 2 times in a year. not even once.

I have just received my SLR Magic Rangefinder which is a groundbreaking concept. It transfers focus away from the main lens focus ring onto a dedicated buttery smooth geared 240 degree cinema lens focus ring and attached to the main lens like a screw on filter.
With the main lens set to infinity, focus is done purely through the SLR Magic Rangefinder.
This means that the awkward to focus Kowa 2x anamorphic lenses are now as usable as an Iscorama.
It means Nikon glass can finally focus the 'right' way!
It also gives closer focussing abilities for lenses that have a long minimum focus distance (like the 2m of an Iscorama anamorphic) and prevents the focus breathing inherit in all non-cinema photographic lenses.
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The Sony RX10 M2 is our first look at Sony's new 4K XAVC-S codec at 100Mbit/s, the same which will be on the A7R II come the end of July. The RX10 M2 also brings 1080/120fps and up to 1000fps at lower resolutions.
It features an extraordinary 24-200mm Zeiss lens with constant F2.8 aperture and built in ND filter.
Is this the run & gun camera you've been waiting for?
Read the full article

The Canon is great, to bad it can't be used on the NX because of the electronic focus.
Otherwise it would have been my main pick. I used it on my FS100 with an electronic adapter and the BMCC Ef with great results.

It's actually a 9x11" sensor, so they say...
http://largesense.com/products/8x10-large-format-digital-back-ls911/
But basically it is impossible to make a cmos sensor that size.
Sensors are made out of round silicon wafers, the current (biggest) standard is 300mm (12"). 9x11" does not fit on a 12" wafer. Even if it would, it would be _extremely_ expensive, because a large part of the wafer would be 'waste'.
On top of that, there is always a part of the wafer that has some fault. With small sensors, that's not a big problem, because you just have to throw away a small part (1 sensor) of the wafer. This is the reason fullframe is much more expensive than aps-c.
If you'd make large format sensors this way you'd have to throw away the whole wafer for any error.

Yes, calling each other racist, scum, and stupid really is daft as fuck and doesn't help. The pitfalls of speaking politics and different ideologies in the wrong place...
And QMedia, I care. Just last week the popular opinion of a million Top Gear fans wanting petition for Clarkson to stay on. That's pretty good fandom, mind you. Most Conservatives were on the fence, until the report came out, where they then changed their tune to agree with the Left with the inevitable BBC sacking. It's funny how popular opinions can change given information and context.
While we can all now agree (as Andrew now with mphillips and damp posted above) that Jeremy Clarkson is at fault... and we can agree that assault is terrible... I can also see the thinking that the BBC really should have had better talent management and avoided this. Well, from a preventative measure at least, still not sure they could have done anything different after the incident. This guy has been on thin ice for over a year, and what they did was extend this season of Top Gear by 4 episodes? Interesting... 
Oh and I'm also questioning the BBC's reporting on the NHS and Elections too so yez, thanks, think for ourselves indeed.
 
 

Poll for Clarkson's Dismissal 59% right decision, 29% wrong decision, 12% don't know. 
I've been keeping an eye on the elections lately but it's really interesting looking at the overall demographic of voters for topics like the Clarkson debate. Like the usual difference in ideologies etc.
 
 
 

I find that people who complain about politcal correctness are usually the ones who want free reign to be racist, sexist or derogatory with no repercussions. Whenever I see someone bemoaning our PC world on Facebook, it's usually right after they've been called out for saying something along the lines of 'let's bomb the whole middle east.' 
If you need to put down others for the sake of 'comedy,' you're probably not a very inventive comedian. You can be still be edgy and controversial without being an asshole. 
 
 

the best camera of 2014 is the one that earnt you some money ......now go and buy some lenses , thats where the 'look' is really created
 
I think some of you are forgetting this is Andrew's list and if he wants a Canon at no1 then so be it , it is his forum after all........

Damn it. This means my mom has 4k before I do

Canon's made it clear that they don't consider DSLR video to be a serious thing. And for those who do consider it to be a serious thing, they can go buy or rent an EOS Cine series product. And by all accounts, they're quite happy with how this has worked out. Hoping for anything else from them is simply irrational given their statements to date.

No, that wouldn't make any sense - they would then be cannibalising C100mkII sales. Most people who shoot on C-series cameras are people who have come from SLR shooting. They may have certain features about C-cameras that they like, but if someone's looking to make a camera purchase, and they can buy a 5DmkIV with the same image quality as the C100mkII for $2k less, they're going to go for the 5D.
 
There's nowhere Canon can go in terms of major improvements for video in the sub $5k market that won't cannabalise their C-series lineup.
I would expect incremental video updates, and much more substantial updates on the photography side, at least for the <$5k market.

Going back to the op and the title of the post - I think 4k will be important to you if it's going to bring you a benefit.
 
These guys are all working in specific genres and within that they work within specific constraints.  Stuff like maybe having big budgets, lots of crew, loads of experience, expensive and powerful talent etc etc.  The reasons they gave about not wanting or needing 4k don't necessarily apply to somebody else (e.g. me and the stuff I shoot).  
 
I can see that 4k might be very useful to me - especially things like being able to crop an HD frame out of a 4k frame and simulate pans and zooms etc.  Working with a very small crew (mostly just me) being able to introduce those elements into shots without needing to handle the camera during the shoot could be a huge positive.  For those guys they maybe don't see the benefit of that as they can just say 'get an extra camera crew in and shoot the pan for real'.  
 
Maybe 4k is initially going to be another creative tool that low budget shooters can get the most out of.

Here's the manner in which I'm going to be presenting my questions:
 
First of all congratulations for being a sales leader in the DSLR market and for the successful launch of Cinema EOS. I do however have some concerns that I feel my readers would like addressing.
 
Canon’s strong sales are based on having that price-performance ratio just right and about leading in performance at a price which is attractive to the customer. Looking at a lot of the recent output of the company in terms of DSLRs I feel that performance advantage is now actually a shortfall to the competition especially in two regards - video and image sensors.
 
Panasonic and Sony are offering 4K video on their consumer stills cameras and Canon are not. Moreoever Sony’s image sensors are ahead on all the key performance metrics - resolution (36MP), low light (12MP full frame), dynamic range (even the cheap A7 is 2 stops better than the 1D X) and video (full pixel readout on the A7S).
 
In terms of price Sony have a more aggressive price point for the A7 vs the Canon 6D on full format, cheaper still when it comes to enthusiast APS-C models.
 
Also it is clear the C300 is outdated relative to the Sony FS7 just announced at IBC, which does 4K recording internally for $8k and 180fps slow-mo with a 10bit 4:2:2 XAVC codec and more importantly filmmakers who I have known to have embraced the C300 as owners are saying to Sony “well done on the ergonomics”, an area of great strength traditionally for Canon and a great selling point of the C300.
 
Additionally it’s now possible for Canon users to take their hefty investment in Canon lenses to other systems, notably to Sony and Panasonic mirrorless cameras. Speaking as a user myself of a huge range of EF lenses, the only reason I haven’t sold my 5D Mark III yet is because of auto-focus. I am shooting stills and video on the A7S.
 
How would you address the concerns I’ve highlighted here today?

I'm sorry, but it's only natural that sales drop over time.
 
Three major reasons why :
- normal people don't buy a new camera every single year, most people who buy a DSLR will use it for 3-5 years minimum before buying a new model.  Not all of us use them professionally or need to have the newest equipment the moment it comes out.
- the moment people replace their camera, their DSLR is being sold second hand.  The second hand camera market follows the new product market with a delay of 3-5 years.  Which means that the new DSLR's from 5 years ago are now changing hands.   To new owners who are NOT buying a new DSLR.  But will probably use their second hand camera for minimum 2 years.
- there's an economical crisis that affects the camera market too.
 
This is not exclusive to DSLR's.
New car sales in the Netherlands for example have dropped to the lowest level in 45 years.
 
And then to specifically blame Canon and Nikon for this doesn't make any sense.
 
Percentages don't tell a story here.  Considering that Olympus isn't shipping the numbers that Canon and Nikon are doing, absolute numbers would tell a more accurate story.  Also, people switch brands, so a decline in sales for Canon will automatically benefit other brands.  The point is, you need much more accurate data before jumping to these wild conclusions.